Los Angeles Ballet on "So You Think You Can Dance"

From the company (moderators please move if I have posted in the wrong place!)

Dear Patrons and Friends,

Los Angeles Ballet would like to share some very exciting news! LAB has been invited to appear on FOX’s hit reality series So You Think You Can Dance! Company members Aubrey Morgan and permanent guest artist Eddy Tovar (courtesy of Orlando Ballet) will perform the touching pas de deux The Man I Love from George Balanchine’s ever popular ballet “WHO CARES?”

The episode airs on FOX this Thursday, July 24th at 9:00pm EST and PST. So You Think You Can Dance captivates nearly 19 million viewers worldwide each week – this appearance will showcase Los Angeles Ballet to the nation and the world! Share the news with your friends and family, and tune in!

LAB would also like to use this occasion to thank all of you for your support over the last two seasons! It’s the generosity of our patrons and friends that has made an opportunity like this possible!

I was thinking weeks ago that this would be the perfect pas de deux to show ballet on the show. The men don't wear tights and the music is more contemporary than, say, Swan Lake, or Don Q. This is wonderful. In seasons past, the show has often downplayed ballet, calling dancers "contemporary" when a good many of them have studied at ballet studios. But last week Nigel gave a nice tribute to Desmond Richardson and now we have the Los Angeles Ballet. It's also nice for the LA Ballet - a sort of coming out party.

Let me preface my comments by saying that I'm a big fan of LAB, and try to attend as many of their performances as possible, even though I'm over 100 miles away from most of their venues.

I don't think the performance did ballet any favors. It wasn't well-performed, because the dancers looked a bit tentative, and underpowered. But more importantly, it was a sad, apologetic choice for showing ballet on national TV. Why not men in tights? Why not challenging music? Why not challenging choreography? If it were up to me, I'd have put on the Agon pas, but maybe that's why I'm not a TV producer. As it is, it really did not distinguish ballet from any of the other "routines" that appear on the show.

If the choice of choreography danced is reflective of what ballet ADs think of the general level of their untapped audience, then it is a very sad day for ballet indeed.

The pas de deux seemed rushed to me and the crowd drove me bonkers. Every little jump or spin was greeted with loud squeals and cheering. Despite that I was still happy to see Balanchine performed on network television. For just a few minutes the stale, rank air that usually permeates reality television smelled clean and pure.